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London cyclist knocked off bike half-a-mile from hospital lay in road for an hour before ambulance arrived

A cyclist waited in agony for an ambulance for an hour after being knocked off his bike less than half-a-mile from casualty.

Antonio Parraguez today called the wait “scandalous”.

London Ambulance Service today apologised for the delay, saying the crash happened at a “very busy time”.

Builder Mr Parraguez, 42, was cycling from his north Kensington home to play football at the Westway Sports Centre when a oncoming cab suddenly turned right across the road in front of him.

He slammed on the brakes and was thrown over the handlebars, landing inches from the front of the taxi as it screeched to a halt.

“I had two very bright flashing lights on, but he didn’t see me,” he said. “I was very, very fortunate not to be run over.”

A passer-by dialled 999 as a crowd gathered. A paramedic arrived in seven minutes in a first-response car, and called for an ambulance after placing Mr Parraguez in the recovery position.

He said: “No-one wanted to move me. I was in agony, with pain in my shoulder and my neck, and I was freezing with the shock. I didn’t know what was wrong and they didn’t want to move me.”

'Scandalous': Mr Parraguez waited for an ambulance for an hour
As he lay on the roadside, his wife Amanda drove past the scene - less than half a mile from the St Charles NHS Urgent Care Centre - on her way home from work. She was unaware of the accident until a police officer knocked on their door at 9pm.

The ambulance arrived an hour later and Mr Parraguez was taken to St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington where he was scanned and X-rayed before being allowed out at 2am yesterday.

He said: “Once I was there, they did everything but I think being made to wait that long is scandalous.”

A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: “We were called at 7.07pm to reports of a road traffic collision involving a car and cyclist at Cambridge Gardens, W10.

“We sent a paramedic in a car who arrived at the scene in seven minutes of the call coming into our control room.

“The paramedic established that the patient had a shoulder injury but was not in a life threatening situation.

“Unfortunately, as we were very busy at the time, it took longer than we would have liked for the second ambulance crew to arrive and we are sorry for the delay.

“We prioritise all our calls so those in the most serious or life threatening situation receive the fastest response.

“The second ambulance crew arrived at 8.07pm and took the patient to hospital.”